Push and Pull
by CultOfStrawberry
Summary: Yue has transcended death, to become the Moon. But the Ocean needs a new form to complement the new face of it's love.


**Push and Pull**

You can see this story as both La/Tui and Sokka/Yue.

Disclaimer – AtLA belongs to DiMartino, Koneitzko, and Nickelodeon.

First Edition 2005/12/5, Final Edition 2007/08/08

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La had avenged his other half – the body of the murderer now lay beneath the waves, its dead and cold flesh feeding the creatures that resided in his all-encompassing form. He could feel Tui's presence above him, feel the beautiful moonlight shine on the waves and caress the surface of his form. He delighted in feeling her familiar pull again after the murderer had destroyed her body.

They had circled eachother for ages – push and pull – a dance that was truly timeless and endless, even as Zhao, he who would have destroyed her, tried to do so. And now his love bore a new form, no longer did she swim around him endlessly.

He was comforted in the familiar pull, but still he was incomplete. His love and other half bore a new countenance, so young and beautiful, a face fitting for her far more than a simple fish and he himself swam in a circle, without someone to lead or follow him.

He needed a new mask to continue the dance, a new face to balance out his love's aspect. When he had pulled the murderer off the bridge, he had for a brief moment considered taking this countenance. When the struggling ember that had been Zhao finally left the body to rot in hell, he had gazed upon the shell the murderer left behind and held it unsuitable, a affront to his lover. Why should he sheathe himself in the form of a Fire Nation man, and the one who had tried to harm his love? True, the soul was gone, and only the shell remained. But such an ugly visage it was.

So he discarded it in favor for a better one. One that would be willing, and one that would complement Tui's new face better.

His love deserved only the best, and so did he.

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Sokka walked along the city wall morosely, feeling the moonlight bathe him. He could _feel_ her presence from above, but as much as he tried to reach out for her, he could not touch her. He longed for contact, to feel more than just the moonlight on his face. There was no one like her, and there would never be anyone. He had fleeting crushes before, like he had for Suki, but what he had for Yue transcended that. He would have loved her even if she were the poorest girl in the city.

And he would always love her. He would live off the moonlight for the rest of his life if he had to.

He heard a soft splash and looked down at the sea, hearing it again and wondering if someone was down there. The moon was full, and its light shone off the waves like light reflecting off the shards of a broken mirror, but the sight was very pleasing to him.

The water rippled and he saw the source of the splashing, seeing something black surface before disappearing again. Then it jumped out of the water and he saw what it was – a black fish. Except that these fish didn't normally swim in the frigid depths of the ocean…

He felt a gentle pull, as if the fish was speaking to him. He remembered the events of the fateful night, Zhao killing the silver fish, the red moon, Yue's death. Two fish that had once circled eachother perpetually were now just one. Tui had a new form. But La did not.

Comprehension dawned on him and he looked down at the fish one more before he looked up at the moon. He could almost swear that he saw Yue in the moonlight, welcoming him, her arms held out for him. The black fish jumped out of the water, causing a louder splash.

He was getting another chance, one that no other human would ever have. To restore the balance between the moon and ocean, to be the new face of the Ocean, to circle with the Moon endlessly… be with his love for eternity…

A few people looked curiously when he climbed the wall and stood at the edge. These stares turned to shouts when he spread out his arms like wings, but he jumped before anyone could stop him.

The icy water hit him and numbed him instantly, but he was not afraid. There was no pain at all, and he felt his consciousness expand, way beyond anything he had ever known before. He could hear and see so much, more than he had ever in his whole life. He felt the life that teemed within his great body, he felt the people and ships that traveled across his surface, and he felt the power he held. He opened his eyes, seeing dark blue all around him with the silvery light overhead and he smiled, reaching out. He also saw the body of the small fish, the former host of the spirit that now inhabited his body. It was dead, and floated along the waves.

He was Sokka the Water Tribe boy, the boy who had never been able to bend his native element, yet he was now La, the Ocean. And he felt the pull of his mate. She would always pull at him, and he would pull right back, and this would go on always, but he did not mind because he was now complete, bound to his other half. The Ocean had found a more than worthy host for its power, one who was willing, one who loved the Water as much as he did, and who would always cherish the Moon as he did. And such a handsome youth, brave and strong. He could feel the Moon's pleasure and happiness.

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And so for the rest of eternity, the Moon would reach out with her silvery light, the arms of a welcome lover, pulling at the Ocean. And the Ocean always gladly rose to the occasion, rising to meet the Moon as he had always, and dance with her the dance that was as ageless as time.


End file.
